This is the help we need

Published: Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 8:07 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 8:07 p.m.

A pipeline to deliver Mississippi River sediment to the wetlands of Jefferson and Plaquemines parish is getting closer to becoming a reality.

The official hope is that the project will one day form the basis of a system that will bring sediment to Lafourche Parish.

The pipeline has gotten $1 million of the estimated $60 million cost from Lafourche although Lafourche will not directly benefit from the project in the near term.

Although the pipeline will be dismantled after the project in Plaquemines and Jefferson, the alignment of the pipeline will remain and will eventually facilitate a future project that comes all the way to Lafourche.

In the meantime, though, Lafourche will benefit from any project that increases the wetlands protecting the Louisiana coast from the encroaching Gulf of Mexico.

Another pipeline project that has been discussed and is in preliminary stages of study would take sediment from the Atchafalaya River and deliver it to wetlands in Terrebonne Parish.

That project is not as close to being built as the first, but it does hold promise for local wetlands.

The beauty of these projects is that they use sediment that is a liability in one place and turn it into a benefit in another place. In these cases, the pipelines take sediment that has to be dredged to maintain navigable waterways and use it in the fragile and disappearing wetlands that need the land.

The projects aren’t cheap, and they aren’t easy.

Piping sediment over many miles is a difficult process that will require pumps and pipes, not to mention all the requisite rights-of-way from landowners over which the pipes will pass.

Even so, they represent some of the best hopes for our coastal wetlands.

The challenge now is continuing to press forward with the pipelines, particularly the Mississippi River one that is so much closer to being built. With any luck, the planners and engineers working on the Atchafalaya pipeline will be able to learn valuable lessons and put them to use in their project.

The natural balance between river sediment and coastal erosion has been disturbed. River levees keep the rivers from spilling over their banks and delivering sediment and fresh water each year like they did for millennia.

Now, when land is washed away, it is not so easily replaced.

With these pipeline projects and many others like them, perhaps we can undo some of the damage man has done. In the end, the entire coast will benefit if we can fight back the forces of erosion to replenish and rebuild our natural protections.

<p>A pipeline to deliver Mississippi River sediment to the wetlands of Jefferson and Plaquemines parish is getting closer to becoming a reality.</p><p>The official hope is that the project will one day form the basis of a system that will bring sediment to Lafourche Parish.</p><p>The pipeline has gotten $1 million of the estimated $60 million cost from Lafourche although Lafourche will not directly benefit from the project in the near term.</p><p>Although the pipeline will be dismantled after the project in Plaquemines and Jefferson, the alignment of the pipeline will remain and will eventually facilitate a future project that comes all the way to Lafourche.</p><p>In the meantime, though, Lafourche will benefit from any project that increases the wetlands protecting the Louisiana coast from the encroaching Gulf of Mexico.</p><p>Another pipeline project that has been discussed and is in preliminary stages of study would take sediment from the Atchafalaya River and deliver it to wetlands in Terrebonne Parish.</p><p>That project is not as close to being built as the first, but it does hold promise for local wetlands.</p><p>The beauty of these projects is that they use sediment that is a liability in one place and turn it into a benefit in another place. In these cases, the pipelines take sediment that has to be dredged to maintain navigable waterways and use it in the fragile and disappearing wetlands that need the land.</p><p>The projects aren't cheap, and they aren't easy.</p><p>Piping sediment over many miles is a difficult process that will require pumps and pipes, not to mention all the requisite rights-of-way from landowners over which the pipes will pass.</p><p>Even so, they represent some of the best hopes for our coastal wetlands.</p><p>The challenge now is continuing to press forward with the pipelines, particularly the Mississippi River one that is so much closer to being built. With any luck, the planners and engineers working on the Atchafalaya pipeline will be able to learn valuable lessons and put them to use in their project.</p><p>The natural balance between river sediment and coastal erosion has been disturbed. River levees keep the rivers from spilling over their banks and delivering sediment and fresh water each year like they did for millennia.</p><p>Now, when land is washed away, it is not so easily replaced.</p><p>With these pipeline projects and many others like them, perhaps we can undo some of the damage man has done. In the end, the entire coast will benefit if we can fight back the forces of erosion to replenish and rebuild our natural protections.</p><p>Editorials represent the opinions of</p><p>the newspaper, not of any individual.</p>